The Apia Town Clock Tower

The Apia Town Clock Tower is a substantial and visible monument on a roundabout on Main Beach Road, which commemorates Sãmoan soldiers who died in World War I.   Most of them were Sãmoans, already living in New Zealand and fighting for the British with ANZAC troops.  It dates from the days of the Western Sãmoa Trust Territory, which was administered by the New Zealand Government from 1920.  Evidently, there were some Sãmoans serving with the Germans, but they are not commemorated.  

Near it are the Nelson Memorial Library, the fish market and the bus depot.  The Nelson Memorial Library is Sãmoa’s public library, sometimes known as the Apia Library.  It was set up in 1956 and opened on this site on Beach Road in 1960.  The building was funded partly by the Sãmoa and New Zealand Governments, and the family of Olaf Frederick Nelson (1883-19440, the patriot and leader of the anti-colonial Mau movement.